whitetail decoy
- Thread starter rkr
- Start date
Purple shoulder
Regular
- Location
- Winnipeg MB
I cant say I've ever seen deer come into a flock of geese but hey it's worth a try!
It works for moose! Last year our tag holder in the group shot a cow decoy at 200 yards!! He was excited, embarrassed and pissed off all at the same time. Two other hunters sitting in cover watched him walk into a cut and shoot their decoy before jumping out. Lol.
I've used a small buck decoy while bowhunting and it works wonders. Make sure you have it facing you or quartering away a bit as a buck will usually approach it head on giving you a shot and he will not see you come to full draw. They can be a pain in the butt to carry out and set up in the dark, but if the conditions are right, they work like a charm. I would also mention that it is a safe move to only use them during an archery season and not a gun season.
I've used miss November before, cheap blow up doe/fawn decoy.
Had the buck in was after come out into the field the decoy was in (big 12 pointer). He stood 80 yards from the decoy for 5 minutes without moving a muscle waiting for the decoy to move. Then he lost interest and carried on his way across the field. I was bleating and grunting as he walked away and he would stop and look but not come closer.
There I was with my bow in my hand and watched him get farther away until it got dark. Gun season started the next day and I sat all week sun up to sundown and never seen him again. Still haunts me
Had the buck in was after come out into the field the decoy was in (big 12 pointer). He stood 80 yards from the decoy for 5 minutes without moving a muscle waiting for the decoy to move. Then he lost interest and carried on his way across the field. I was bleating and grunting as he walked away and he would stop and look but not come closer.
There I was with my bow in my hand and watched him get farther away until it got dark. Gun season started the next day and I sat all week sun up to sundown and never seen him again. Still haunts me
Been using a fold up Flambeau for 15-17 years, nephew has had bucks bulldoze his Montanas before daylight, buddy made a fold up plywood one based on mine and very rarely does anyone NOT use one. Doe's will be a little skittish but still come and it gives a buck a reason to come out in the open. I have had 2 trophy bucks posturing at 20 yds and only doe tags left
This past fall's buck the setup was the decoy set broadside to a swamp 100yds out, wind blowing into that edge. Me set up 120-150 yds from trails. 1.5hours before dark, 7 pointer comes out of the swamp on a beeline to the decoy. he didn't quite make it 40 yds out of the swamp before a neck shot ended the season.
This past fall's buck the setup was the decoy set broadside to a swamp 100yds out, wind blowing into that edge. Me set up 120-150 yds from trails. 1.5hours before dark, 7 pointer comes out of the swamp on a beeline to the decoy. he didn't quite make it 40 yds out of the swamp before a neck shot ended the season.
hhahhhhhahahahhaI cant say I've ever seen deer come into a flock of geese but hey it's worth a try!
The old Flambeau works... even a three-legged one... but a flocked decoy would be even better.
Easy target...... less likely to run away.....
- Location
- The Conservative part of Ontario
I tried a Miss November one year, I had a doe come out to it, she stomped at it, and walked in a semi circle around it before leaving. She definitely knew right away something was not right. Never saw a buck near it.
For the record I have taken more than a dozen bucks over decoys over the years while bowhunting... they do work to attract deer... not just bucks. The morning after I took the picture above I had ten does and fawns come in to check out the decoy, they ended up bedding down in a circle around the decoy and chewed their cuds for an hour before drifting away... they were all within 25 yards of me and a couple were only 5 yards... later that same morning I shot a buck at ten yards that came in to the decoy. Deer usually approach a decoy cautiously... they sense that something is up with the unmoving imposter,.. but their curiosity gets the better of them... once they conclude that the decoy is inanimate or of no concern they generally ignore it. The beauty of a decoy is that it can bring deer into close range and it focuses their attention away from you... this is a huge help for a bowhunter getting into shooting position and drawing a bow. A couple points about decoys... keep them as scent free as possible... I wash mine down with scent free soap and water and store it in a bag with cedar boughs... I make every attempt to not touch the decoy with my bare hands or allow it to come in contact with other odors foreign to the bush. I often hang tarsal glands on the decoy and spray doe urine on the rump and face once I have it up and positioned. Try to position the decoy broadside to and facing the direction you expect the deer to be coming from... do not face the decoy toward the direction where the deer most likely expect to encounter human activity from. Put the decoy in an area open enough where you can shoot to all sides of it and preferrably where the deer will have to move past you to get to the decoy. You can use decoys as confidence builders to lure deer out into food plots before dark... in this case, you can place the decoy a considerable distance away from you while you hunt over an access point to the food plot. Food plots tend to be communal areas and the decoy may encourage deer to move out of the thickets, but they may not approach the decoy until well after dark...
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The one I use is a Flambeau CommanDoe, it folds and is more of a silhouette. I have used it for both bow and gun hunting. Weighs about 7lbs folds to 20" square, 7 inch thick and fits in a mesh decoy bag with my ghillie suit. I do not think they are made any longer. It is a laugh to see a deer coming in from straight front or back and when they get an angle on the decoy realize it is a deer appear out of thin air. Can also be a bugger when one has a bit of a snooze and wakes up to see the decoy move in the wind.
I agree with Hoyt. I have shot a bunch of deer with a decoy both bow and gun. Mine gets sprayed with scent remover sometimes 2-4 times daily and certainly before and after I touch it. I drench it and sometimes use attractant scent, not often. I have also rigged a single antler that seems to trick them occasionally as well. Like any decoy sometimes they work, sometimes not. Does will often be spooky, but come back numerous times.
Have a buck posturing for it at 20 yds and there ain't nothing like it. As mentioned above it focuses the deer's attention on something but you.
Have a buck posturing for it at 20 yds and there ain't nothing like it. As mentioned above it focuses the deer's attention on something but you.
